Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) describes noticeable changes in memory or thinking that don't yet interfere much with daily life. About 15-20% of adults over 65 have MCI, and some go on to develop dementia while others remain stable or improve. Treatment currently focuses on managing risk factors like blood pressure and staying mentally and physically active.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing drugs that target amyloid plaques and tau tangles seen in Alzheimer's disease, lifestyle interventions combining exercise with cognitive training, medications that improve brain blood flow, and drugs aimed at inflammation in the brain. Researchers are also studying biomarkers to predict who will progress to dementia and who won't.
Anti-amyloid drugs
Drugs like lecanemab and donanemab, now approved for early Alzheimer's, are being tested in MCI to see if starting treatment earlier slows progression. These antibodies clear amyloid plaques from the brain.
Combination lifestyle programs
Studies are testing whether combining aerobic exercise, cognitive training, diet changes, and social activity can prevent or reverse MCI. Early results suggest multi-component programs may work better than single interventions.
Vascular approaches
Some trials focus on improving blood flow to the brain, since vascular problems contribute to many MCI cases. These include blood pressure control studies and drugs that target small vessel disease.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on test scores showing mild but measurable memory or thinking problems, age (usually 55 or older), and biomarker evidence of Alzheimer's pathology for some studies.
What types of trials are currently open
- Drug trials — Testing medications that target amyloid, tau, inflammation, or brain cell function to slow or prevent progression to dementia.
- Lifestyle intervention trials — Testing structured programs of exercise, diet, cognitive training, and social engagement to maintain or improve thinking skills.
- Prevention trials — Enrolling people with MCI or at high risk to test whether early treatment can prevent Alzheimer's disease from developing.
- Biomarker studies — Using brain scans, blood tests, and spinal fluid tests to understand who will progress and who might respond to treatment.
- Combination trials — Testing whether combining a drug with lifestyle changes works better than either approach alone.
Recently added Mild Cognitive Impairment trials
The Efficacy of an IADL-based Non-immersive Virtual Reality Training Program to Enhance ADL Performance and Cognitive Function for Persons at Risk of Dementia
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a touchscreen-based virtual reality (VR) training program that simulates everyday life tasks works to improve daily living skills and thinking abilities in adults aged 50 and older, including those at risk of dementia (individuals with Subjective Cognitive Decline or Mild Cognitive Impairment). It will also explore what personal factors influence the training results. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does the daily life VR training program improve participants' ability to perform complex everyday activities and adapt flexibly to daily life challenges? * Does the training improve overall thinking skills (such as memory, attention, and problem-solving), brain activity, and mood (depression and anxiety)? Researchers will compare the daily-life VR training program (IADL-VR) to a non-situational game VR program (Game-VR) and a traditional in-person tabletop cognitive training program (Cog-Entity) to see if realistic daily-life VR simulation works better to enhance everyday functioning and brain health. Participants will: * Be randomly assigned to one of the three training groups (daily-life VR tasks, digital brain-training mini-games, or traditional tabletop board games). * Attend a 2-hour group session once a week for 12 weeks, which includes 1 hour of assigned cognitive training and 1 hour of physical fitness exercise. * Complete assessments of their daily living skills, thinking abilities, mood, and brain activity (using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI) within 2 weeks before and after the 12-week program.
Track your brain health over time with researchers in China
The goal of this observational study is to learn about the pathophysiological characterization and evolutionary patterns of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in older adults in Fujian Province, China. The primary purposes are as follows: 1. establishment and follow-up of cohorts in the general population and populations with cognitive impairment; 2. investigation of risk factors and evolutionary patterns of AD pathological characteristics; 3. construction and validation of AD digital phenotypes based on multi-dimensional digital-intelligence screening; 4. exploration of AD-related risk genes and their mechanisms of action; 5. development of novel technologies for plasma biomarkers and PET imaging for the accurate diagnosis of AD.
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